Shoe shank



'SHOE SHANK Filed Oct. 25 1924 L llIllVI/l INR Cn'sl /Jhg-.Gunning/1aml FI VBY Maa ai@ ATTORNE CHRISTOPHER c. CUNNINGHAM. or MoNTREAL'pUEBnc, CANADA.

SHOE SHI-KNK.

VApplication ledctober 23, 1924. Serial No. 745,454.`

and which will .have means provided at one end toVA accommodate theV heel. attaching means. l f, x; f

In my invention I' provide almetal stripv having -a grooved portion extendingfrom one end to within ashort distance of the other end, which is flattened out and provided with notcheson each side sothat a staple may be inserted in the notches for attaching the shank to the underside of the sole of the shoe. The grooved end of the strip is provided with tapering sides adapted to pass between the means for securing the heel. to the upper of the shoe. The last mentioned end may be provided with an aper-` turev therein, through which a brad may be placedto hold the stiifener in position;` The strip is bent or curved in the longitudinal direction to conform to the arch of the foot or the instep or shank of thel shoe. One end i of the strip passes under the hollow of the heel'and the flattenedend is so bent that it underlies the ball of the foot ofthe wearer.

In the drawings: i Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a shoe with my improved` shoe shank stiffener at-` tached thereto. l

Figure 2 is a plan view of my improved shank stiffener. i

Figure 3 is a side elevation proved shank stiffener.

Figure 4 isa sectional elevation of the shank taken onthe line 4 4 Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of the i 'shank taken on Athe line 5 5 Figure 3.

Figure 6 shows a perspective' view of one modified form of stiffener.V i p' Referring more particularly to thedrawings, 11 designates the upper of a shoe having an inner sole12, an outersole 13 and a heel 14. In the instep l-or shank 15 betweenv the heel and the ball 16 of the foot, a stiffener 17 is securely yattached to the insole by a staple 18 at one end and a brad 19 at the other end. The stiifener 17 is formed of a i of my iin- Vspirit of the invention.

strip of steel or such like material bent the longitudinal directionl to' conform to the Patented Oct; 19, 1926. l i e arch or instep of theL foot. The strip of steelk y has also a groove 20'formed therein by bending the` stripjin the lateral directioninvthe form of an obtuse U with the upper ends 2l of the U partially-flattened out to forma bearing surface for thestffener against*V the instep. j T tudinal directionv'fromrone end 22;*of the strip to within a short distance ofthe other end 23, the greatest depth of kgroove .being at a vpoint 24` positioned midway between he groove extends in the longisaid ends. The lend 22 or grooved end Vof the strip `is narrowed down or beveled at the edges 25 to clear the attaching nails of the heel,1said nails'being positioned one on each side of the strip in a shoe with standard wooden heel construction. The end 22 isf placed in' the hollow of the heel and the .end 23is flattened out and adapted to be placed under the ball of the foot between the insole and the outsole. Notches 26 are formed invhthe'sides of thel strip at the end- `notches'to hold the stiflener against lateral movement. In the drawing I have shown a Y brad 19V passing through an aperture 28 1 formed in the end 22, but this attachin means may be modified and a staple use adapted to engage with thebevelled edges of this end. I have also shown triangular the prongs of the staple (not shown) being may be made without departingfrom the The operation of the device is as desired shape and the shank support is fol-' lows: The insole is cut and formed to the placed on the underside of theV insole` with the concave side'of the groove 'facing towards the said insole. The lflattened end the heel and ,is attached to theinsole by,y

meansv of the brad. The stft'eners are.

grooved and bent to the shape of the arch Y.

before attaching them to the insoles and are VVery'easily alignedby placing kthe edges of In the modification shown in Figure- 6,r

upwardly projecting Aprongs are provided and inade integral with the strip.

rThe prongs are pressed into the insole and their ends riveted over to hold the stiffener in position against the insole. The prongs may be pressed ont of the side or ends of the k'strip 'leaving the notches 26 as shown. The prongs mayY also be twisted to strengthen thein against buckling when they are driven into the insole. The twisted format-ion also provides a splendid gripping means between the stiffener and the insole. When the lshank is niade .according to Figure 6, it will be readily understood 'that no other attaching means than the prongs is required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is n A shank stiffener for shoes and the like comprising a narrow strip of metal grooved in the longitudinal direction, the groove being in the forniv of an obtuse U extending from one end to'wit'hin a Vshort distance of the other end of the shank, the deepest part of the groove being situated at approximately the .center of the strip, the ungrooved portion of the strip being substantially fiat and the grooved end of said strip being formed with tapered side edges,there being slots punched in the .edges of the strip at the flattened end thereof and said rstrip being bent to conform to the shape of the instep or arch of the shoe andbeing provided with means for attaching saine to the underside .of the insole with the flat end under the break of .the sole and the other y CHRlS'lOPl-IER C. CUNNINGHAM. 

